[e015475]

I've bought probably a half dozen LS motors out of junkyards over the last ten years with pretty good results.

Not a fan of buying a complete running wreck, pulling the motor and parting the rest out. For me storage is an issue, and the last thing I want is the aggravation of selling parts (and my wife asking me when that eyesore is going away). This is supposed to be a hobby, not a business, but rant over.

Everybody on Craigslist thinks the 5.3 they pulled out of their crapped-out truck before they took it to the scrapper is a 'LS1' and equivalent to a Corvette motor. Some are just like the ad you posted and get a turd out of a wreck or the pick-and -pull and do a rattle can overhaul and triple their money. Most don't even really know if they have a 5.3 or a 4.8 motor (check the 7th place on the VIN marked on the block's deck at the front of the motor - there should be a 'T')

Here's my suggestion on how to go about buying a used 5.3.

- Look in car-part.com for junkyards near you that have LM7s. If you want a drive by cable throttle, look for wrecks up to 2002. Most after this are drive by wire. I stay away from anything with more than 100K miles. Everyplace you stop, ask who else has 5.3L inventory they know about.

- Look for yards that still have the motor in the truck/SUV where you can look at the mileage and condition of the truck. Pull the valve covers - if it isn't clean on just a little golden brown inside - walk away. Make sure it has oil in it - a shattered cast pan in an accident is pretty common.

- Junk yards want to sell you a long block, then nickle and dime you to death with the accessories. Ask for the 'pull out' price with everything. Trying to piece an engine together with different PCM, throttle body, harness and crank reluctor ring is a PITA and expensive - buy it all out of the same vehicle. This is especially true if you're buying a drive by wire - make sure you get the pedal assembly, the TAC module and jumper harness all from the same vehicle with the engine.

-When they say the engine is warrantied for a year, ask for a price reduction if you don't take it. None of my projects ever were running a year after I bought the motor, but I can almost always negotiate some off when they write 'no warranty' on the invoice. The probability of ever collecting on a warranty at one of these places has got to be pretty close to zero.

-Offer cash. This works well at the mom and pop type yards, but not so much at the 'corporate' junkyards like LKQ. Cash flow is king in a small business and you can get a better deal most times with cash.

- Be prepared. Have cash on you, Have a truck with an empty bed and tie-down straps ready to pick up the motor.

Bring it home, run a compression test. If it looks good, keep the heads on it. Remember each time you pull the heads you have to buy a new set of head bolts and head gaskets to the tune of a couple hundred bucks. (or you can stud the heads for a few hundred bucks more, but please don't roll the dice with the Chinese studs)

Flip it over and pull the pan, check the condition of the rods and mains and if they look good put it back together. I like to put a new oil pump in them for insurance, along with a careful installation of the oring on the pick-up tube. Put the pickup tube and pan on of your choice for your installation.

I'd put a new rear main seal in it too for insurance. I like NAPAs seal that comes with a plastic tool you remove once you have the seal on the crank - it is slick. Replace the intake to head gasket - a common source of vacuum leaks.

The latest engine I bought was about a year ago. Mom and pop junkyard for cash. It was the aluminum 5.3L engine out of a Trailblazer (worth a little more than the iron block) 94K miles, $600 I wanted a drive by cable for my project so I bought the harness and throttle body from another truck, along with all the accessories for another $175 (I know I said not to do this) as a bundle with the motor. This was a little more than half his asking price when I walked in the door - and this is pretty typical.

Happy hunting - YMMV